South Beloit Barber will gift business to the right candidate

Saturday

Aug 16, 2014 at 2:32 PMAug 16, 2014 at 2:33 PM

By Ben StanleyRockford Register Star

SOUTH BELOIT — If you’re determined to own and operate a barber shop but can’t afford the start-up costs of branching out on your own, you might want to call Pat James at Dad’s & Lad’s Barber Shop in South Beloit.

James wants to hand over his entire business — the building, the equipment and the existing customers — to the right candidate.

For free.

“It’s better than closing the door, pulling everything out and being done with it,” James said.

James started his career as a barber in 1969 working for a man named Fred Dewitt at a shop in Belvidere. According to James, after he had been working there for around three years, Dewitt asked him what he wanted to do with his life and James replied that he would like to one day open his own barber shop.

Soon after, Dewitt tossed James his keys to the shop and retired. He gave James ownership of the building, all its equipment and all of its customers for free.

“I figured that’s what I’d do,” James said, as his 45-year-long career nears its end. He relocated from Belvidere around two decades ago to his current site at 609 Blackhawk Boulevard in South Beloit and plans to retire this December. He would like to help an ambitious barber get started with his or her career.

He has a few requirements:

— The interested person has already made up their mind that running a barber shop is what they want to do for a living

— The barber shop must remain a barber shop and cannot become a salon or beauty parlor

— The interested person must operate the shop five days a week for a full year under James’ ownership before he hands it over

Bob Bauer, a retired electrical engineer who lives in Beloit, Wisconsin, is a regular at Dad’s & Lad’s. It’s a great place to talk politics and joke around while getting your hair cut, Bauer said.

He has mixed emotions about James deciding to retire.

“As you get older, you get set in your ways, and I always look forward to talking with him,” Bauer said. “We’re going to miss him.”

But at the same time, he’s happy that James has the chance to retire and relax.

“I just hope he finds someone who is as congenial and is as good at cutting hair,” Bauer said. “I know he’s trying really hard to find someone who’s responsible.”

According to the United State’s Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor and Statistics website, the job outlook for barbers is stable: “Employment of barbers is projected to grow 11 percent from 2012 to 2022, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The need for barbers will stem primarily from an increasing population, which will lead to greater demand for basic hair-care services.”

James said that anyone who is interested should call the shop at 815-871-7988 and schedule a time to stop in and speak with him.